Moral Acts, Freedom and Conscience

1. Moral Acts, Freedom and Conscience Anne HG

2. Human Actions We usually act with a purpose. Acts without a purpose are reflex or accidental. For any one given purpose, our will is usually attracted to more than one option These options give us choice, but we should choose one option that best achieves our purpose

3. Moral Act A human act: an act performed with knowledge and free will It is called a moral act because it is always either morally good or bad Every consciously deliberate action is therefore a moral act.

4. The Moral Act Reasonable human beings are to act in accordance with their nature as God has created them We are to act reasonably in such a way that we are acting in accord with our being, which means that we are acting in accord with our dignity Acting in accord with our dignity we are able to give glory to God since we are His image and likeness, and we reflect His glory The human person himself is the basic fundamental good on behalf of which we act morally

5. Moral Act Freedom makes man a moral subject When a man acts deliberately, or responsibly it is moral Human acts, that is, acts that are freely chosen in consequence of a judgment of conscience, can be morally evaluated

6. The Morality of Human Acts The morality of human acts depends on: - the object chosen - the end in view or the intention - the circumstances of the action The object, the intention, and the circumstances make up the "sources," or constitutive elements, of the morality of human acts

7. Moral Act • A moral act is a personal act: • it is deliberate • it has moral content • it proceeds from a moral choice or decision • it both reflects our intellect, freedom and free will as well as continues to form it • it effects and affects our character, our virtue and our disposition toward others • it never leaves us exactly the same as before it occurs

8. Moral Act: Moral Responsibility • A key factor in our moral responsibility for moral acts is in our knowledge of moral truth • Sources for moral truth include: • Sacred Scripture • Sacred Tradition • The Magisterium • Ecclesial Laws • Natural Law/common knowledge

9. Moral Actions We choose God or reject him specifically in the morality of our actions We must choose to do good in order to choose God, grow in freedom, sanctify ourselves, and let God's grace work in us

10. Knowledge • You cannot perform an evil act unless you know it is evil at least on some level • The virtue in a moral act is determined in part by knowledge • a virtue is something that enables a person to act according to reason enlightened by faith • A virtuous action presupposes knowledge of what is morally good

11. Freedom God creates us in the state of freedom God gave us free will or freedom to chose one action over another We are at liberty to choose, based on reason and will, whether to act or not in a specific situation. We are responsible for our choices. With these choices, we choose our own ultimate destiny: that of eternal life with God, or that of death

12. Freedom Human freedom is our ability "to initiate and control" our own actions. We choose to do or not to do each action and are responsible for what we have chosen. Freedom does not mean simply doing what we want, but being free to choose the good

13. Freedom The more one does what is good, the freer one becomes Freedom makes man responsible for his acts to the extent that they are voluntary Progress in virtue, knowledge of the good, and ascesis enhance the mastery of the will over its acts

14. Conscience People have an innate sense of basic moral truth. Using human reason, we can deduce the principles of this natural law We use our natural facility called conscience to apply the general principles of the law to specific situations, judging specific actions to be right or wrong in accordance with objective law

15. Conscience Conscience is a practical judgment (decision) as to whether an action, word, thought, desire or omission is good and to be consented to, or evil and to be avoided

16. Conscience • Conscience is a natural facility of our reason that does three things: • Reminds us always to do good and avoid evil. • Makes a judgment about the good and evil of particular choices in a specific situation. • Bears witness after the fact to the good or evil that we have done. (I.e., having a guilty conscience.)

17. Conscience To have a correct conscience one first needs to know God’s law (as it is known in the natural law and revealed in the Bible), the laws of the Church and also the particular duties of one’s state in life Prayer enlightens and strengthens conscience, giving it the direction of God’s Word

18. Lax Conscience A lax conscience is one which judges more by convenience than by God’s law and leads a person to easily commit sin, slight or serious Everything is judged carelessly, without thought of the consequences or the offense to God